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Rhodesia
The Commonwealth of Rhodesia is a sovereign state located in southern Africa. Rhodesia borders the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Angola, Namibia, and Botswana to the west, and South Africa and Swaziland to the south. Along with its continental holdings located directly on the African continent, Rhodesia possesses several island territories throughout the Indian Ocean. Rhodesia is a unitary constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary republic system based upon the British Westminster system. The commonwealth government was created by the Constitution of Rhodesia passed in 1925, and full recognition of domestic political independence from the United Kingdom and the British Empire was established through the Statute of Westminster, instituted in 1931 by an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constitution has declared that the powers of administration and civil service which the government exercises are derived from the monarch, whom is the leader of the Commonwealth realm of nations. The current monarch is Queen , who arose to the throne in 1952. Through the monarch, the government exists, and the sole legitimate representation of the people in government is the parliament, which is made of representatives of local election constituencies located throughout the nation. The prime minister, who is the head of government, is the leader of the majority party in the unicameral parliament. The government of the prime minister is appointed by that person, though the selection of these offices must be approved by both the parliament and the monarch. Much the same, in order for a bill to pass within the parliament which is then enacted by the prime minister and their government, the bill must first reach majority approval in the parliament and be given royal assent. This system of government was introduced by the constitution passed in 1925, though it has been amended in certain areas to meet with the changing needs of the nations population over time. The modern nation state first met its modern borders after the Portuguese crown declared bankruptcy in 1892 and the British Empire purchased Mozambique to settle any long standing loans to British banks and provide financial stability to the Portuguese through an immediate fund injection. When Rhodesia was declared by Cecil Rhodes in 1895, political followers of the British explorer began to settle in the lands under the leadership of Thomas Northmere and his British Central Rhodesian Company. A single year later, in 1896, the British Central Rhodesian Company introduced a policy of forced relocation for the native peoples of the lands and subsequently pressured the British government to annex neighbouring Madagascar as an area for native deportation. In the decades that followed, Rhodesia's European-born population rose significantly, outnumbering the dwindling African populations by 1917. Through policies of inwards growth and the establishment of a separate government, Rhodesia quickly became the most developed nation in Africa, and served as a model for new European colonies on the continent. More natives were forced into the newly established British East Africa colony as it was established, allowing for Madagascar to be settled by Europeans by 1918. Rhodesia was given full political independence from the British Empire in 1931, and after participating in World War II, the nation's mentality changed thoroughly after many volunteers returned from Europe having witnessed the mass genocide camps instituted by fascism and racism. While many still held the belief that Rhodesia was their own adopted land, they ended their focus on continued expansion throughout Africa, and made peace with the expelled Africans through the Treaty of Zanzibar after a hefty payment towards the displaced peoples and the systematic extermination of the Tse-Tse biting fly for the entirety of the continent. By the end of the Cold War, Rhodesia became a leading economy in Africa and even in the Indian Ocean area, surpassing various other former British colonial possessions and maintaining strong economic links with Western Europe and states derived from European rule. The economy of Rhodesia is diversified, modernized, and considered to be post-industrial. When the Europeans first settled in the region, agriculture and plantation farming where considered to be strong segments of the economy, however through the influence of the historically interventionist government, industrialization came quickly to Rhodesia. In this, the development of strong resource production and manufacturing became significant of the economy, with Rhodesia developing an export economy that soon gave it great amounts of economic sovereignty in its financial dealings. As of 2014, Rhodesia is one of Africa's largest, wealthiest, and most economically equal nations, with a nominal GDP of £1.42 trillion and a Gini coefficient of 0.24. As an economically diverse nation, Rhodesia maintains an economy based upon the sustainable surplus production of certain raw materials and the manufacturing of consumer and industrial products within the nation to insure a positive trade deficit. As a result of intense government intervention in the economy, Rhodesia is considered to be mixed market socialist, with strong economic ties to government institutions supporting a system based upon the benefit of the common citizens. Trade agreements with European and formerly British colonial possessions have also allowed for the export of goods in substantial volume permit the cheap import of products not produced within Rhodesia itself, creating a moderate cost of living and a diverse consumer and industrial market. Rhodesia holds amicable relations with mainly Western nations throughout the world. The nation maintains formal diplomatic relations with many other states throughout the world, and nations with which Rhodesia does not hold relations maintain contact through the United Nations and other international agreements. Through a longstanding policy of friendly isolationism, Rhodesia's most prominent relations are maintained with primarily European and other Commonwealth nations. The policy has also allowed for Rhodesia to maintain its export economy and a strong national sense of foreign independence. The nation refrains from direct military or political agreements with countries outside of the Commonwealth of Nations, and its strongest alliances exist with the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa. Rhodesia is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Group of Nine Major Economies, the Group of Twenty Major Economies, the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the Trans-Indian Economic Agreement, and the African Union. Category:Rhodesia Category:Nations